3,000th Win Carries Thornton to Jockey of the Week

Veteran jockey Tim Thornton has had his share of highs and lows during his riding career but recording his 3,000th career win is no doubt one of the most satisfying highlights. Achieving that milestone led the panel of racing experts to vote Thornton Jockey of the Week for November 11 through November 17.

The weekly honor acknowledges jockeys for significant riding accomplishments and who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

Thornton, 37, began his riding career in 2003 at age 16 and earned his first win on June 13 of that year at Arlington Park. He also rode at Aqueduct and Belmont Park before moving his tack in 2006 to ride in Illinois between the Chicago-area tracks Arlington and Hawthorne. He won numerous riding titles at Hawthorne before returning to his native Louisiana in 2017 to ride the Delta Downs and Evangeline Downs Thoroughbred meet circuit.

He achieved his 1,000th career win at Hawthorne in 2012 and his 2,000th win in 2019 at Delta Downs. The graded stakes winning Thornton has won the leading rider title at Delta Downs and Evangeline Downs multiple times.

In 2018, Thornton posted more wins than any other North American rider with 286 except for five-time Eclipse Award winner, Irad Ortiz, Jr. who won 346.

Among his many achievements, Thornton set a new track record at Delta Downs on October 23, 2021 winning 7 races on the day's 10-race card.

"It's always awesome to win races," Thornton commented after his unbelievable day. "I just took it one race at a time and kept trying to put horses in the right spot to win and luckily they were all fit and ready to go. I was able to get them there."

Thornton was also one of five finalists in 2022 for the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Award.

Winning his 3,000th career race at Delta Downs on November 14 aboard Good and Stout for trainer Carrol Castille meant a great deal to the resilient Thornton who is no stranger to on-track injuries but always bounces back and returns to the saddle.

"I just want to thank all the owners and trainers who have had faith in me and given me the opportunities to ride their horses and achieve this milestone," said the hard working and personable Thornton. "I am looking forward to winning 4,000!"

Other nominees for Jockey of the Week included Kendrick Carmouche who won a stakes race at Aqueduct, Antonio Fresu with a stakes win at Del Mar, Umberto Rispoli who won the Gr. III Bob Hope at Del Mar and Luis Saez who won the most races for the week with 12.